Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Ever since Rodney Stuckey started playing for the Detroit Pistons in '07, we have noticed that he looks very similar to Shady Records' own 50 Cent. On his recent trip to The D, we had a chance to get a photo of the two together to verify the similarities. Deee-troit Baaasket-ballll!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

I am so full of sympathy and sorrow for the loss of our friend, Chris "Lil Chris" Baker and Travis's buddy, Charles "Che" Still. I'm sure there are some people out there that knew them or know Travis and AM that would like to offer their support. The best way to do so is by contributing to the funds that were established in their memory. If you can do so, please help out.

The Chris Baker Memorial Fund and the Charles Still Memorial Fund have been established for the benefit of Chris and Charles' families. Donations may be sent to the respective funds at the following address:

Friday, September 19, 2008

Classic video from old-school TV show "Reading Rainbow" featuring a pro-learning version of "My Adidas" with JMJ rapping on it. My favorite thing is when Run grabs the sandwich from D and throws it away. Why? Did it smell funny or was he concerened with D's weight or something?

Check out this article by my man Jon Caramanica on what he has dubbed "meta-rap", more commonly and somewhat derogatorily referred to as "hipster rap". I don't know what to call it personally, and each of the artists mentioned in the article are somewhat unique to me, but there is some sort of intangible that links them together. It sure is nice to see the newest movement in hip-hop covered by the pinnacle of daily literati in any case. Go, Jon!Be on the look out for The Knux new video for "Bang! Bang!" directed by Justin Francis very, very soon.

Friday, September 12, 2008

So make no mistake about it, with the new baby, travelling, and the VMA's etc. I've been incredibly busy. I really enjoy doing this blog and will continue to do it until it's not fun anymore. But that's just it- I do it for enjoyment, and sometimes there are just too many other things that take priority and need attention.So, in the interest of keeping your interest, I have decided to try- for the first time- a guest blog posting. The following is by former Editor-In-Chief of XXL magazine, sometimes radio personality on Shade45, and all around hip-hop madman Elliott Wilson. Elliott went to the VMA's and saw Kanye's performance etc. and wants to share his views on his new single "Love Lockdown" with the world. So, take it away, El...

Roc Boy Live Show Curse?

"Fuck it, we'll do it live."—Bill O'Reilly

OK the CDQ is out. "Love Lockdown." The masses of Internet geekdom are downloading it as I type. It's the song everyone had an opinion about it even before it was even officially mixed or mastered. Hate it or love it, we can't ignore it. Why? Well because Kanye West decided to try out his new material on one of the biggest stages on the planet: MTV VMA's. (This wasn't no Lupe goin' back to Indiana shit.)

It's been done before in rap land, I still remember gettin' hype over Jay-Z giving us a taste of "Izzo" at the BET awards awhile back. But you hip-hop cats should know this is quite a risky venture. See as the tired saying goes, You only get one time to make a first impression. And as the career of Rakim proves, what you hear on wax (hey I'm old school) is not always what you're gonna get for your ticket stub.

When Jay (with Kanye's urging) decided to perform the second verse from this then still unfinished "Dope Boy Fresh," at a Glow in the Dark MSG show, he reluctantly obliged. Turns out, it might've bit him in the ass. The vocal aggression found on that night was lost on the song's final audio version on which Jay prefers to playfully hanglide prose over the crunchy drums especially on his end lines. "But they know the words to my shit." Or "I'd probably jock me tooooo!!!!!"

Kanye might have slipped on the same banana peel. If you didn't like "LL" live, you won't feel it now. If you fell in love with the live "LL" and played it relentlessly, you're not gonna be feelin' the CDQ. That's at least, at first listen. Some songs you don't like at first do grow on your ears. Believe it or not ?uesto.

As previously revealed, autotune is aplenty here. But that's not the problem. Try the chorus where the drums kick in and one of the strongest pop hooks in recent times gets lost in the mix. Plus Ye's scatting and humming instead of really delivering his words with the passion he did last Sunday.

The moral of the story, kids. Perception rules reality. The other day when people kept pressing me for my opinion: I boldly declared "LL" would be bigger than "Gold Digger." Now of course, I'm not so sure. But I'm gonna stick to the script cause no one likes a Nasir Jones and Jayceon Taylor (aka The Hypocritters).

The world's one big A&R. And are opinions seem to change like we change our drawers. Still I for one, wouldn't mind if Mr. West did one more take.

P.S. I'm so glad "Swagga Like Us" mp3 leaked before any live attempts were made. Somebody thank that bootlegger. He needs a hug.

A link to Kanye's "Love Lockdown" is here. The opinions expressed above are, of course, not that of Paulrosenblog.com nor those of it's editor/writer/creator.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Oh the building excitement! Except for the fact that it's the NFL's Sunday 2008 season kickoff (only MTV would put the VMA's on the same day, huh?) this is the thing to watch today. Travis and AM are the "house band" for the 2008 VMA's, and will play throughout the show in and out of commercial breaks and will also back 4 different performances on tonight's show. Don't miss it- 9PM EST on MTV. This is an exclusive Rosenblog photo from Saturday's rehearsals.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

This is an interesting video interview with Rakim by some French journalist. Try as he may in his European media way to sway the interview subject and let his own feelings and opinions be known, The G-d doesn't waiver on his praise for Em.

If the French man had it his way, Marshall would be wearing "clown" suits, Scarface would only make songs with The Geto Boys, and Em wouldn't have made D12 albums. Way to make your agenda known monsieur... Thank you Rakim for staying the course and being one of the best to ever rap. Props to T-Mac for the linkage.